About me

This blogname was derived from the novel The Secret Life Of Saeed The Pessoptimist by the Palestinian Israeli Emile Habiby: absurdism as weapon against the (ir)realities of daily life in Palestine/Israel. (The subtitle is from a book by Dutch author Renate Rubinstein. It could as well be my motto).
My real name is Martin (Maarten Jan) Hijmans. I've been covering the ME since 1977 and have been a correspondent in Cairo. I started my 'Abu Pessoptimist' blog in January 2009 out of anger during the onslaught in Gaza. The other one, The Pessoptmist, is meant to be a sister version in English. (En voor de Nederlandstaligen: ik wilde in november 2009 een tweede blog in het Engels beginnen en ontdekte te laat dat als je één account hebt, een profiel dan meteen ook voor allebei de blogs geldt. Vandaar dat het nu ineens in het Engels is... So sorry.)

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Kahane's fascist Kach movement is still very much alive in Israel (2)

Hundreds of Land of Israel Movement activists and supporters of the radical movement Kach held a memorial service on Tuesday to mark 20 years since Rabbi Meir Kahane's assassination.

The assembly was held at the Ramada Renaissance Hotel in Jerusalem. During the meeting shirts, books and other Kahane items were sold. Speeches of the late Kahane were screened as well, whileprotestors went wild, clapping every time he said "Arabs out".
The founder of the Temple Institute, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, said under cheers of the audience: "Leaders who have ruined our country always tell us that no one can teach them how to love Israel. But this love they are referring to makes them establish an Ishmael state in Israel. If, G-d forbid, an Ishmael state will be built, we will destroy it."
Knesset Member Michael Ben Ari (National Union) also spoke. He said that a picture of Kahane stands on his office desk and on his desk at the Knesset plenum, next to his book and that he sometimes tells the picture: 'It is not a simple task to represent you; you stand up to countless attacks and I must say that your truth isn't a popular one. But Rabbi Kahane taught us not to speak the truth in the morning according to last night's poll results, as the prime minister does."

MK Ben Ari went on to say that the radical right-wing groups have been going through two tough decades since Kahane's murder, but that he 'was given twice the amount of time for my speech honoring Rabbi Kahane at the Knesset today, the same speech I wasn't allowed to give a year ago."
Activist Baruch Marzel mentioned the memorials devoted to the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. "Fifteen years ago memorials began for this one man. The state wasted millions on his legacy. There are almost no cities without a street or a hospital named after him. But after all of this, less and less people participate in his memorial services, because the truth gets clearer and clearer as years go by."

The head of Yeshiva of the Jewish Idea, Rabbi Yehuda Kroizer, said, "Rabbi Kahane became a symbol and as time passes, instead of his Torah disappearing we see how vital it really is. In his book, Rabbi Kahane wrote that we are living in times of redemption, which is why he viewed Israel as part of God's plan. We must proudly carry on this mission assigned to us, and not grovel before the world's nations or the enemies of Israel, but only stand firm and strong."
Kach activist Haim Pearlman (small picture), currently under house arrest after his suspected killing of four Arabs in the 1990s, was also among the participants. The wife of the 'Jewish terrorist,' Keren Pearlman, told Ynet: "Today everybody knows that 'Kahane' is not a dirty word."